Earth Day Activities at Schools in Cameroon

Planning for Earth Day, April 22nd, is well underway all over the world. We bring our attention to West Africa where The Cameroon Coastal Environmental Sustainability Network (CCESN) is working on education and outreach on coastal management. CCESN is dedicated to keeping Cameroon’s beaches, coastal ecosystems and other important waterways clean for generations to come. All year long CCESN holds awareness campaigns for people to learn about major maritime security issues, coastal environmental sustainability, proper fishing techniques, best coastal recreation practices and many other related topics.

Coastal ecosystems all over the world are threaten by factors such as wastewater pollution, changes in water chemistry due to climate change that can harm or kill many species, coral reefs are being destroyed and beaches are being littered.

Students from Pathfinder Bilingular Primary School in Cameroon join together with the Earth Day Network Education Toolkit

This year, to help combat these threats, CCESN has planned some amazing activities for Earth Day. They are working with local schools to create awareness about threats to coastal ecosystems and ways they can make change in the future. Activities include running environmental programs for Earth Day, creating environmental clubs, utilizing Earth Day Network’s lesson plans, and organizing a drawing and writing contest. The national writing contest urges students to think about how their school can properly dispose of harmful non-biodegradable pollutants like plastics. The drawing contest is connected to the theme of Earth Day 2014, Green Cities. The contest challenges students to think about what a greener city would like and then create a picture, with no words, that portrays this city.

Students from Pathfinder Bilingular Primary School in Cameroon join together with the Earth Day Network Education Toolkit

We are very excited about the work CCESN does all year round but are eager to see the kinds of essays and drawings that come from students in Cameroon as they celebrate Earth Day 2014. For more information, or to get involved in the Earth Day activities contact ccesnetwork@gmail.com.